British Enfield Rifle Conversion to Jawa Ion Blaster

totallyice

Jr Hunter
I happened to recently get my hands on a genuine British Lee Enfield Rifle like the one used to construct the Jawa Ion Blaster in Episode IV. Problem is, I cant find a tutorial on how to do it. Oh, and I also need a grenade launcher cup for it. Also, I want to make resin replicas of it and I promise I will sell them cheaper than anyone else. But I have to learn how to do that too. LOL. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
Cool!!!

I have one made from a real enfield, but i have the same problem, i need the grenade launcher. i know some places where thay sell them, but price is over 200 dollars (real ones), but getting a resin cast should not be difficult. I have one of the made by Theothergary... all made of resin. I even thought about making the same project, using my enfield, and his launcher....

Good luck, and Merry Christmas.

Alfredo
 
Unless you know what you are doing, do not cut any firearm's barrel down. The BATF frowns on such things. To cut it down short enough to be a Jawa blaster, you are constructing what is known as a "short barreled rifle". It's illegal to do, without taking the proper steps.
 
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Unless you know what you are doing, do not cut any firearm's barrel down. The BATF frowns on such things. To cut the it down short enough to be a Jawa blaster, you are constructing what is known as a "short barreled rifle". It's illegal to do, without taking the proper steps.

+1

You're absolutely right. Cutting the barrel down will make it an NFA weapon. You must first register it as an SBR on a BATFE Form 1.

However, there are cheaper/easier alternatives, if you don't mind having a non-firing prop (which is likely preferable, considering it's use). If your "barrel" ISN'T an actual barrel, then it's not an SBR. By first welding a steel plug in the breach, you have permanently decommissioned the barrel; it ceases to BE a barrel. Another option would be to use a dummy barrel turned from a solid piece of material.

Thanks for your input, SaxeCoburg. This is definitely something people should be aware of when making props from real firearms.
 
please... please do not destroy such a fine piece of history. Might I humbly suggest that you get ahold of a stock set and use that to build your prop, considering that the jawa blaster is mostly sawed down enfield stock anyhow... I mean yes there are a few bits and pieces of the action left but those are easily replicated or purchased and considerably cheaper than the actual firearm itself. The Enfield is a fine piece of firearm/military history and many collectors would glady buy it just to keep it intact.
 
I was poking around Gun Broker looking at Enfields, and there is a dealer selling "non-firing" Lee Enfields for around $70. The disclaimer is that they MIGHT be good enough to fire, but they are in untested condition, very rusted, etc etc, so being sold as wall-hangers. One in that condition I would have no qualms about cutting down into a prop blaster.

Regarding using a real Enfield legally... since I know that the proper SBR stamp is $250, and the blaster as a prop would no longer be fired, would rendering it inert by filling the barrel and chamber with epoxy be good enough to be legal without the SBR stamp? I don't weld, so I'm looking for options I can do myself.
 
no... because the epoxy would not be a permenant solution in the eyes of the BATFE. You would have to have a qualified gunsmith/armorer leadbore the rifle... meaning fill the bore/barrel with lead or comperable metal to prevent the repair of the weapon to functional form. Epoxy unfortunately doesn't fit the bill
 
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